Moving on to Greener Pastures

Former U.S. Submarine Officer Matt Horne, ’12 says his job prospects are rosier; thanks to his Carroll School MBA

Matt Horne spent six years working as a submarine officer in the U.S. Navy and now works part-time as a Navy Reservist. Horne loves his time in the Navy. The work is extremely challenging with very long hours. He was attached to the USS Philadelphia and was deployed for seven months in the Arabian Gulf in 2007.

Horne is also part of an ongoing trend of military entering into an MBA education. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and now he's enrolled in the Carroll School of Management earning a dual MBA and master's degree in finance. "I know the Carroll School will help me transition out of the military and into the business world," he says.

Horne sees the military as being an excellent training ground for business leadership. At a young age the military forces decisiveness and accountability. He believes the military also instills creativity into leadership. “At a new job often people sit and wait to be told what to do," he notes. "But in the military you have to run your team how you see fit. You must be efficient. You must be self managed — it's a lot like running a company." He adds that as a submarine officer often he had to act, without checking with his superior. "This was excellent training for business."
Applying his military training to his studies

Horne was reminded of all of this over the summer when he interned at Credit Suisse in their private banking sector. He found that people his own age tended to over analyze things. But by waiting, the situations often changed and it became too late to act. "Being a former military person helps me act quickly." He also finds during group study projects this same training prevents him from becoming overwhelmed by details such as what font size to use for a title page. "Being in the military has trained me to always look at the bigger picture and to stay calm in a high-pressure situation," he says.

What he loves about the Carroll School

Several schools reached out to Horne when he researched which MBA program to attend and because of the G.I. Bill, part of his tuition is covered. He chose the Carroll School because it was a small program where students and faculty collaborated well together. He also wanted to be in Boston and was impressed by the strength of the Boston College alumni network. Now he's halfway through his Carroll school MBA studies he's never felt more confident about his job prospects. “It can be really hard for military to find work after leaving active duty. Having an MBA from the Carroll School will certainly help me get interviews and ultimately a wonderful job."

To learn more about how the military leverage their experience in business leadership at BC's Carroll School of Management, please click here.

Updated: November 17, 2014Maintained by: Military Profile Carroll School of Management